Declaring a Leave of Absence

Before declaring a leave of absence, all students should review and understand the following:
  • A leave of absence is a temporary leave from the University.
  • USC categorizes Leaves of Absence into eight types of leaves.
  • Students are responsible for making contact with all applicable offices/departments to ensure closure in all areas such as their academic advisor, the Registrar, Financial Aid, Support & Advocacy, and other student service offices.
  • For Domestic undergraduates, filing a leave of absence is primarily a declaration process. There is no approval or denial given.
    • International undergraduate students must maintain full-time enrollment to remain in the United States and should contact OIS regarding their visa status.
  • Domestic Graduate students must seek academic department, Dean, and Graduate School approval.
    • International graduate students must also seek approval from OIS.
  • In advance of your return to USC (at least one month prior is recommended), students are responsible for reaching out to all applicable offices and departments including their academic advisor, the Registrar, Financial Aid, Campus Support and Intervention, and other student service offices. *Note, students taking a health-related leave must abide by the University’s Readiness to Return deadlines.
  • If you are currently on a leave of absence, please do not submit an additional leave form, but instead contact your academic advisor with your updated return term and any other special circumstances relating to your extension. Your advisor will be able to update the university records on your behalf.
Graduate students: Contact your academic department directly to inquire about a leave of absence.
Undergraduate Students: Click here to declare an Undergraduate Leave of Absence via myUSC.

Next steps for undergraduates in myUSC:

Undergraduates declaring a leave of absence will click the button above and be redirected to myUSC.edu. The Leave of Absence app is included in the myUSC list of “MyServices”, which also links to Undergraduate Advisement, Blackboard, & Web Registration. If the Leave of Absence app is not visible on the displayed list of “MyServices”, students should follow the steps below to locate it:
    1. Click on “Show all links” under “MyServices”
    2. Locate the Leave of Absence app in the alphabetized list
    3. Follow the steps outlined in the app to declare an LOA